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Things to do in MDE

Hi all. I have been reading this for a while and it has provided some good information.

I am going to Medellin to meet a girl, and while I saw a gentleman get absolutley roasted, by situation is different as I have just gotten out of the Marines, am 19, and she is 18. So bald and fat are not really an issue.

Today we were talking and she mentioned that she wanted to spend a day or two with me in either "El Penol" or in "Santa Fe de Antioquia". She said they are towns about 1 hour outside of Medellin.

I guess my main concern is safety. While I am not a moron who wears his rolex downtown at about midnight, I have been to a few rough places in Mexico during my stint in the Marines. (Hunting with about 4-5 other Marines for strip clubs....the nastier the better LOL). However those days are gone for me as they have lost their excitement.

Anyway....what do you guys reccomend?

By ual777 on Oct 2, 2005, 01:43 in Friendly Talkzone.

treeshark2 says on Oct 2, 2005, 06:02:

Piedra Del Penol is great Went to the "rock" last trip. Beautiful place. Planning to go back and stay for a couple of days next trip.
I had no problems in Medellin, however if your lady friend tells you not to go some places, LISTEN to her. I wore my Harley gear the entire time. But there are areas that I would have been dead in 5 minutes.

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ColombiaBoard says on Oct 2, 2005, 06:25:

Santafe de Antioquia I think SantaFe de Antioquia would be more interesting for you. Although El Peñol is nice it´s mostly a huge dam lake and the big rock that you can climb, apart from that there´s not much to do or see in that area whereas Santafe de Antioquia is a little historic town with paved streets and colonial style houses. It´s warm (sometimes really hot) and there are several nice hotels with pools and good food. Oh, and yes, from the security point of view, choose Santafe de Antioquia.

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Pappassito (☼Travelguide writer) says on Oct 2, 2005, 07:19:

Both Places are nice... Both El Penol y SantaFe are really nice to visit.. As far as general safety, I wouldn`t worry too much about it... You`re a jarhead,like my son, & you should know what general precautions to take just like any port.. Hopefully you`ve lost the buzz-cut by now... Your girlfriend will know where & where NOT to go.. I don`t know about your spanish-speaking skills,but I would learn as much as possible before your trip..

"A wise monkey never monkeys with another monkey's monkey."

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ual777 says on Oct 2, 2005, 11:01:

Sounds good... Well, my hair is still pretty short, but not like before....and my spanish is somewhere between conversational and fluent. I can hold a 45 min. conversation. Anyway, thanks for the tips and if anyone else has any advice, keep it coming...

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johnboy77 says on Oct 2, 2005, 15:51:

Santa Fe de Antioquia is more like 2 hours outside of town... The country side around Medellin is much safer than it was 5 years ago. You can go about 4 hours in any dirrection without getting into any red zones.

You should be fine, but you must take precautions. Like, you can't do things like you would in the US.

Also, if a Colombian says its too dangerous, definitley listen

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Brians says on Oct 3, 2005, 06:11:

Santa Fe I was there with my wife's family last March. It is beautiful. They have a finca in San Jeronimo about 20 minutes away. As far as safety not a problem. It is more like a two hour drive but a beautiful drive. The town is very historic.

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